At Hale Family Real Estate, we do the bulk of our work here in SW Wake County. This report covers Morrisville, Cary, and Apex Real Estate. Source- TARR Report.

Is traffic increasing or decreasing? There were 28,663 showings during the quarter in the combined areas, an increase of 16%. Housing located in Preston and Lochmere were the most shown during the quarter.

What is happening with inventory?Combined inventory decreased by 16%, new home inventory increased 2% and resale inventory decreased 21%. There were 1,181 houses listed during the quarter, an increase of 2%. The number of expired listings decreased 8% and the number of withdrawn listings decreased 9%. The number of sellers who have dropped list price from original decreased by 27% and account for 24% of total inventory. Price dropping sellers accounted for 28% of 1Q/14 inventory. The average price drop was 4%, versus the 4% discount provided by 1Q/14 sellers. The average days on market for the active listings decreased to 61 from 68. The average list price increased 20% to $462,800.

Is anyone committing to residential real estate?Quarterly listings with a status change to pending increased 36%. March pending sales accounted for 91% of active listings versus 54% seen in 3/14.

What happened to closings?Quarterly closings were up 10%, new home closings were up 3% and resale closings were up 13%. The average days on market for the closed sales was 46 compared to 70 days during 1Q/14. Quarterly closings with reported financial concessions increased 57% and accounted for 67% of the total. Quarterly closings with terms of sale reported as cash decreased 26% and accounted for 12% of the total. Re-sales with LADOM between 1 and 30 increased 23% and accounted for 59% of re-sale closings. Based upon quarterly closings, the months of housing supply in the combined areas is 2 months compared to the 3 month supply at the end of 1Q/14. An undersupplied market is noted when the supply is 3 months or less.

Is correct initial list price still important?Yes it is. Closings analyzed where the final list price was less than the original list price sold in an average of 102 days at 94% of original list. Closings analyzed where the final list price was equal to the original list sold in an average of 28 days at 99% of original list.

What are the home builders doing? First quarter permits in the combined areas were down 12% compared to 1Q/14. This was a bit of a head scratcher given the 2% inventory increase and the 3% sales increase. I guess we can blame the adverse winter weather in February for this one. I hope this was a one quarter weather influenced anomaly and not a trend we are going to see during this year. As the metrics above indicate, this sub-market is in desperate need of inventory.

The takeaway from this report is that the market is great! If you are even thinking about buying or selling, call us! We can help you get the most money for your home or get the most home for your money.